Few would argue that extracurricular activities like youth work do not help to create well-rounded citizens, so why has it received less than a page in the 116-page report of former chief inspector of schools Mike Tomlinson on the future of the 14-19 curriculum?
Tom Wylie, chief executive of The National Youth Agency (NYA), says the report could have gone further, calling it "a step in the right direction, albeit a touch cautious". John Bateman, chief executive of UK Youth, agrees: "Wider activities were not given the prominence we might have hoped for. It's a shame youth services and youth work didn't get much of a mention and were so tentatively worded."
Despite the caution, Tomlinson's vision is wide. He wants to include sport, part-time and volunteer work, family responsibilities and involvement in schemes such as The Duke of Edinburgh's Award in a young person's record of achievement (YPN, 20-26 October, p2). But Tomlinson's working group argues that more research needs to be done before such activities are made compulsory.
Lack of facilities
The group cites two reasons. First, it realises that if young people don't participate in these activities it could be down to a lack of facilities, not lack of will. Second, the Government is still deciding young people's minimum level of entitlement to out-of-school activities, something the green paper on youth should shed light on in December.
The NYA estimates that 500,000 young people are involved in informal award schemes in England each year. Some, including ASDAN and The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, are available but unevenly spread. An England-wide mapping exercise could be useful in laying the foundations for formalising wider curricular activities, and this is what The NYA intends to start once the white paper that results from Tomlinson's report is published in the New Year. The exercise would pinpoint gaps in provision and be followed by a programme of "growing" accredited activity schemes in those areas with less provision.
Pete Loewenstein, acting manager of The NYA's learning and achievement team, expects most of the wider activities, including family responsibilities, to be recorded rather than accredited - a view shared by Tomlinson (YPN, 6-12 October, p3). Loewenstein also expects a ceiling to be placed on the proportion of the diploma to be made up of accredited activities, to ensure it can't be a substitute for academic work.
"The Tomlinson review leaves the door open to the possibility of wider activities being compulsory further down the line. That it has stopped short of having wider activities as a requirement means there is still work to do on how the education process values these activities," adds Loewenstein.
The NYA has already made steps towards standardising out-of-school accreditation with the publication of its National Framework of Awards in Non-formal Educational Settings. But Wylie thinks it unlikely that one England-wide award will emerge and anticipates a framework providing uniform recognition of the value of existing awards.
One model that England could follow is the pilot Welsh Baccalaureate, which includes 30 hours' compulsory community service for 16- to 19-year-olds. It has had an enthusiastic reception from the 1,000 students on it so far, and is likely to remain a key part of the qualification, says project team manager Kim Morgan.
Wider range of candidates
Universities UK, which represents the country's universities, and the Federation of Small Businesses have welcomed the inclusion of wider activities in the diploma. Both see this as a chance for them to draw on a wider range of candidates from all sections of society, since the level of support given to young people when filling out their personal statement in UCAS forms is patchy.
However, the formalisation of youth work is viewed with concern by Peter Harris, chairman of The Federation for Detached Youth Work. "If a young person wishes to enter into work with a youth worker and can get some kind of learning out of it that can be put on a certificate, that's positive.
But it needs to be led by a young person, not by the desire of a youth worker to meet some requirement. If the youth worker is pressured to have a certain percentage of young people with some kind of certificate, it can have a damaging effect."
Judith Norrington, director of learning and quality at the Association of Colleges, also expresses caution, though she welcomes the report: "You're more than the subject you learn. We've always said there are important things happening out there, but we haven't found a way of putting them into the curriculum. This is about finding the right vehicle for it.
"But one of the things young people have said is, 'don't make us feel that everything we do is going to be assessed' - there's a balance to be struck."
TOMLINSON'S PROPOSALS
- A four-stage diploma, awarded at entry, foundation, intermediate and advanced level, to replace the current curriculum for 14- to 19-year-olds
- The diploma would have two parts: "core learning" would focus on developing basic skills, such as functional numeracy, literacy, communications and ICT, and "main learning" would offer a choice of up to 20 subjects of vocational and academic study
- Students would go through the programme in their own time, building up credits, and top grades could be extended to offer them more of a challenge
- External assessment would be reduced and teacher assessment extended
- Vocational courses would be offered in partnership with colleges, so some people would enter college at 14. Apprenticeships would eventually be incorporated into the scheme - Coursework would be replaced with an extended project
- Wider activities, such as part-time and voluntary work and involvement in schemes such as The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, would be recorded on the young person's record of achievement or transcript
www.14-19reform.gov.uk.
